App of the Week – Focus – How to train yourself not to text and drive.

Are you a driver that is tempted to pickup your smartphone, even at stoplights? Distracted driving is a serious problem and Focus is a simple app that reminds you to put down the phone if you are at the wheel. Are you a driver that is tempted to pickup your smartphone? How about at stoplights?

Distracted driving is a serious problem and Focus is a simple app that reminds you to put down the phone if you are at the wheel.

The app runs in the background and uses the smartphone accelerometer to detect if you are driving. If you pick up your phone you will be told to put it down. If you are a passenger, simply shake the phone to turn off the voice reminder.

The app also reports how much time you spend on your phone while driving. It is a simple tool that is great for teens & adults to help us keep the proper focus.

Report Card

The pro version ($4.99) has a feature that gives parents a report card on how well you child (or anyone you choose) is doing. You receive an automatic email that summarizes when your child was on their phone while driving, for how long and how fast they were driving.

Screen Time vs Phone Talking

Focus counts both screen-time and talking on the phone as distracted driving. You can see the detail of how much time you spent talking vs looking at a screen, as well as, a map of where you were when distracted.

Note Worthy

There are no start/stop buttons. Focus automatically detects when you are driving. Train or bus rides may present false data.

Focus runs in the background and does consume battery. I have been testing the app for about a month an I do notice a drain but not as significantly as many other apps that run in the background.

If you are using your phone for navigation, this counts towards screen time.

Focus is a simple tool that is great for helping us keep the proper focus.

Pricing

Free

Pro Version: $4.99 (one time fee, non recurring)

Direct App Download Link

Android: While the Focus app is not available on Android there are similar apps available such as LifeSaver & Auto Focus however, I have not tested these apps. They also approach the issue from a different angel.